So with us trying to steam towards the conclusion of my WWE 2K24 Universe Mode, this blog will simply be a preview of our upcoming Royal Rumble event. I have 6 matches lined up for the show, including both the Men’s and Women’s Rumble matches. Plus, I will also let you know the week-to-week booking of my two ‘project’ superstars of the series, and what led both CM Punk and then Bray Wyatt to their respective matches on this event. So… LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO!
Firstly, Bray Wyatt. On the first Raw of January, The Sicks come out for an in-ring promo, led by Uncle Howdy. We have them celebrating Dexter Lumis’ and Joe Gacy’s tag title win the week prior, and how now they will continue to ‘unleash their fury on all those who have sinned’. Eventually The Wyatts appear on the titantron, with Bray saying that the time of The Sicks is already over, and before it’s too late, they must ‘RUN!’. The next week, both The Wyatts and The Sicks have video packages, with Bray and Howdy saying they will each be in the Royal Rumble match. They also build towards the ‘wars’ next week. The third Raw of January sees Alexa Bliss defeat Nikki Cross, Braun Strowman defeat Erik Rowan in a No Holds Barred match, and then finally DIY regain the tag titles from Lumis & Gacy, after Bray Wyatt stops Uncle Howdy interfering, and upon the distraction, DIY get the win. On the final Raw before the Royal Rumble, Uncle Howdy and Bray Wyatt meet one on one… but instead of in the ring, Howdy invites Bray into the ‘therapy’ chair… as the two go back and forth going incredibly deep and personal. Bray is brought to tears when he’s asked how it feels that he is solely responsible for his brother Bo having to go away, and now that Uncle Howdy will make him suffer.
Meanwhile… over on AEW SmackDown… A victorious CM Punk comes out to the ring to reflect upon his win over Adam Page in their brutal Ambulance match the week prior. He is soon interrupted by the Young Bucks, who… have some words for Punk. They say that they got Punk out of one company, and they wont rest until they run him out of another. Punk responds by saying that the Bucks don’t have their own Khan-man here to do their bidding, and if they try and ‘PLAY THE GAME’ with WWE politics, then they’ll be found out and proven to be what they truly are… COUNTERFEIT BUCKS! Eventually it is agreed that the next week, Punk will face each of the Bucks in singles matches back to back. Elsewhere… fellow Elite member Kenny Omega successfully defends his AEW World Championship against Sami Zayn. The next week, Punk does indeed face both Bucks; he firstly beats Matt before Nick immediately jumps him to lead to their match following… And it seems like Punk is going to get another win… until both Kenny Omega and Matt Jackson run out to attack Punk for the DQ… FTR eventually run out to make the save for Punk, and the two trios close the show with a stare off. CMFTR open SmackDown in the third week of January, but are soon interrupted by The Elite. The Bucks accuse FTR of betraying AEW by siding with CM Punk, eventually setting up a tag title match for the next week. Finally, January week 4 and AEW SmackDown is main evented by the Young Bucks defending the AEW Tag Titles against FTR. The Bucks get the win, but an ensuing brawl sets the stage for a 6 man tag match at the Royal Rumble, that will be contested under EXTREME RULES!
So with those two storylines setting up just a part of the card for the Royal Rumble show, what does the line-up in its entirety look like?
- CMFTR (CM Punk & Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs The Elite (Kenny Omega & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) in a 6 man tag Extreme Rules match
- Women’s Royal Rumble match
- AEW Women’s Championship: Mercedes Mone (C) vs Charlotte Flair
- WWE Championship: Roman Reigns (C) (With Paul Heyman) vs Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins – Roman Reigns can lose the title by DQ or countout
- Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch
- Men’s Royal Rumble match
I think that’s quite the card to be honest! Should be a lot of fun to play out, and hopefully be just as fun for you all to see it unfold, in my next blog in the series… coming very soon! Get ready… TO RUMBLE!
Josh.